Currently Available Courses

Does your dog love to sniff? Are you looking for a way to work them out mentally and physically with an activity that is still easy for you to do and fit into your busy schedule? Do you need something to help build your dog's confidence or curb unwanted behaviors stemming from boredom? Great! Then the Introduction to Scent Work course is for you!

Have you graduated from the Introduction to Scent Work course and are looking for ways to take your Scent Work training to the next level? Wonderful, you are in the right place! The goal with this course is having your dog approach each of these highly distracting, and oftentimes difficult, areas with focus and enthusiasm! Let the fun begin!

Your dog is doing great searching for primary in all four of the elements (Interior, Exterior, Vehicle and Container). Now they are ready to put all of their training to the test! In this 6-week course, we will improve upon three specific skills-sets using primary alone: building endurance, building speed and building independence.

In this 6-week online course, your dog will learn to find a new novel odor: Birch. Teams will be concentrating on searching interior and container search areas. Handlers will also learn the importance of reward placement and timing, as well as how they can further support their canine partner, all while following the K9 Nose Work® methodology. Get ready to take your searching to the next level!

Has your dog graduated from the Introducing Birch course ? Are they ready to take their skills to the next level? Wonderful! This 6-week online course will cover how to introduce your dog to the concept of searching for Birch in exterior and vehicle search areas, both of which can be rather challenging. Gain the skills you need to succeed!

With your dog doing well in finding Birch in all the elements (Interior, Exterior, Vehicle and Container), you are ready to introduce them to a new novel odor: Anise. In this 6-week online course, we will show your dog that Anise is just as valuable as Birch and will have them searching for it in all the elements. You will be amazed by how quickly they pick this up!

Scent Work is an exhausting activity for the dog, both mentally and physically. Therefore, we must consciously train to build upon our dog's endurance, especially as we prepare to enter the higher levels of competition. In this course, we will outline how you can get your dog comfortable with routinely finding 8, 10, 15 or even more hides within a single search area!

When dogs are competiting at Scent Work trials, they are not only judged on whether they find the hide, but how quickly. Now, every dog has their own search style and no two dogs are the same. However, we are going to cover exercises designed to help your dog be as speedy as THEY can be. We will also discuss the importance of speed v. rushing.

Scent Work is one of the few dog sports where the dog must take the lead. After all, they are the one with the amazing sense of smell! For many of our dogs, it is scary or unnerving to the take the reins as it were. Oftentimes, it is even harder for handlers to give up a level of control! We will address both of these concerns head-on! We will help your dog to develop a level of independence and confidence while helping you know the difference between hindering v. helping.

One of the most important skills for any Scent Work handler to hone is being able to read their dog. Every dog will develop their own personal "tell". In this course we will break down the common signs your dog is in odor, heading toward and finding the hide as opposed to what it looks like when they get distracted, are crittering or investigating "dog odor".

Whenever an official sets a hide at a trial, it should be a thoughtful and well-planned process in an attempt to pose a particular odor puzzle to each dog and handler team. A course geared toward all trial officials, especially those with United States Canine Scent Sports , you will learn how to ensure each hide is successful at your next trial!

Judges and CSDs are the backbone of USCSS™ . They must have a full understanding of the Official Rules, how the Classes and Games are to be organized, designed, run and officiated as well as understand their overall roles at a trial. While a requirement for all USCSS™ officials, competitors will also find this course exceedingly helpful.

In addition to Birch, Anise and Clove, dogs must be able to locate and hunt for Cypress in AKC Scent Work trials. In this course, we will cover how you should introduce this new odor to your dog and incorporate it into your training. We will also discuss rules specific to AKC, and steps you should take to set your dog up to succeed.

In AKC Scent Work , competitors also have the opportunity to enter the handler discrimination class, where the dog will locate an article with their scent in the Novice levels, or a scented q-tip or cotton ball in the upper levels of competition. We will cover how you can introduce this concept to your dog and ensure their success!

Are you interested in competing in the C-WAGS Scent Detective Program? Great, this course is for you! You will learn the ins and outs of competing in this venue, enjoy a thorough review of the rules and gain tips how to be successful at a C-WAGS trial. The more competition venues you are comfortable playing in, the better!

Once our dogs understand the concept of the Scent Work game and they have their foundation skills cemented, our next step is to ensure the dog is only interested in odor. This means setting up proofing exercises that are designed to stretch the dog without setting them up to fail or posing trick questions to them. We will do just that in this 6-week course.

The NW2 Trial Prep class will mentally and physically prepare teams for NACSW™ NW2 trials. Some of the topics covered include training with distractions, searching for multiple hides and solving converging odor problems, how to read your dog sourcing an inaccessible hide, covering the search area, working under pressure as well as tips on how to prepare for the day of the trial will be covered.

The NW3 Trial Prep class will mentally and physically prepare teams for NACSW™ NW3 trials. Some of the topics covered include covering the search area and reading when your dog has found all of the hides or if there are no hides, building stamina, training for high hides, how not to get lost during the search, dealing with the stress of the unknown, working under pressure as well as tips on how to prepare for the day of the trial will be covered.